Selected quad for the lemma: religion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
religion_n	burn_v	true_a	zion_n	28	3	10.0308	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43621	Gregory, Father-Greybeard, with his vizard off, or, News from the Cabal in some reflexions upon a late pamphlet entituled, The rehearsal transpros'd (after the fashion that now obtains) in a letter to our old friend, R.L. from E.H.	Hickeringill, Edmund, 1631-1708.	1673 (1673)	Wing H1808; ESTC R7617	145,178	344

way to Heaven fill their poor heads with nothing but sound and noise and whining and feigned words and partly do they continue unconvinc'd and unconverted by reason they think they are converted already yet have as little reason to think so as if they were Turks Jews or Heathens nay I 'le maintain it and avouch to be true before God and men that I have by my own experience found more goodness more kindness more truth more honesty more sincerity among man-eaters or Cannibals in India and Turks in Arabia than amongst the best of these Professors Read Jam. 2. 14 15 16 17 20 21 22 24. Mat. 16. 27. Eph. 2. 10. Tit. 3. 8 Phil. 1. 27. Nay put in their Preachers and all into a sack together and the first that comes out shall have incomparably more pride malice wrath lying slandering and evil speaking and rejoycing in iniquity when they can hear of any faults or judgments with which any are overtaken that are not of their gang than any Turk Jew or Indian Man-eater that ever I converst with and I have converst with thousands and if these be the people of God the Lord in his mercy deliver me from them and the evil way they walk in by Companies running headlong to the bottom and end of that way eternal destruction and striving who should first come there and run the fastest as if they were afraid they should not come at the Divel in good time Whereas my Religion namely this of my Saviour in Mat. 7. 12. like the Sun in his full strength and light carryes its own evidence and speaks sufficiently for it self leading men into unerring paths bringing quietness and peace and light to mankind nor can any man walk in darkness or do any thing of the works of darkness that walks by this rule but peace must be upon them as upon the only true Israel of God no canting no hypocrisie no feigned words needs here but Righteousness and Peace embrace each other both here and to Eternity In which Religion I doubt not by Gods grace to continue all the dayes of my life for of all the Idols of the Heathens there is but one true God and of all Religions there is but one true one one Christ one way one truth one life one light and this is it Would God think you leave men a way to Heaven revealed by his Son if it were not to be found without a great many Fathers decrees of Councils Glosses Homilies Sermons infinite and as large and of as little purpose the most of them as the writings of Mr. Prin Whereas this way of Christ is soon found soon got my heart easily remembred readily applyed And if no other Text had been preacht upon this 30 years and practised England had seen no warrs nor bloodshed ruine nor rapine murder and rebellion that had almost quite destroyed us neither had the war been carryed on with a few canting words and misapplyed scriptures prating and praying seeking of God as Cromwel called it when he went to prayer with the Officers of the Army to seek God and know his mind whether he should murder the King or no whereas he had resolv'd it long before like Jezabel seeking God by prayer and fasting when the bottom and design of all is nothing but rapine and covetousness to take Naboth's life that thereby she might get the better footing in Naboth's vineyard But if this little Rule be practis'd down goes Diana of the Ephesians and the Idols fictions and imaginations of the heart of man No man could steal nor covet nor be a rebel nor disobedient to his superiors if he keep to this Rule Why because he would be loth to be so serv'd himself loth men should take away his goods his servant his daughter his wife or his lands or good name No man would be a rebel or disobedient to his superiors that is of this Religion Why because he would not endure that his servants his children and family should be disobedient unto him there would be no living no keeping house with them if they did not obey for if he command one son in seed-time to go plow and another to sow and his son or servant say nay but it is better to thrash or fan and more needful this disobedience will make them all smart for it in a little time a house thus divided cannot stand long Nay in spiritual things the master of the family calling his servants children to prayers in the morning at noon or night he will not permit a servant or a child to be hallowing and playing abroad whilst he is praying nor to lie lolling upon a couch or chair laughing and jearing with his hat on whilst he is praying and kneeling or singing of Psalms there is not a Phanatick in England will suffer this but will reprove rebuke exhort and chastise such a jearing irreverent son or servant thinks God requires it at his hands and would send judgements upon him and his family with a grievous curse if when his sons are vile he restrain them not though they tell him it is their conscience to be vile and irreverent And tell them moreover how God punish'd old Eli for neglecting to restrain his sons let them pretend what conscience they will he will likewise have the liberty of his own conscience which tells him if it be their conscience to be thus disorderly vile irreverent and disobedient it is also his conscience to restrain their vileness irreverence and disobedience and will further ask them if they were in his condition and were masters of a family whether they would be content that their servants and sons should do what they list and what was right in their own eyes and whether it is possible a house so divided can stand long This every Phanatick in England pleads to his family and brings the fifth Commandment to confirm and warrant all that he saith to them adding that it is the first Commandment with promise as the Apostle calls it that is with promise of present reward in this life even length of days whereas men by disobedience to their natural fathers or spiritual or temporal fathers in Church or State shorten their lives as the rebels Baanah and Rechab Achitophel Absalom Sheba and the rest of them in all ages Now apply this that I have said examine thine own heart call it to account seriously before thou come before Gods Tribunal to receive thine eternal Doom when it is too late to amend and try in any particular where thou disobeyest thy superiours in Church or State whether thou wouldst suffer such disobedience in thine own family First as to Ceremonies which are but the outskirts the suburbs of true Religion this one true Religion I am speaking of yet it is a sign that thou art an enemy to the City of God and holy hill of Sion if thou burn plunder or pull down the Suburbs not because the Suburbs are the City or Ceremonies of true Religion the true Religion it self and Gods holy Sion but

yet the Governours in the City will watch over thee punish thee and keep thee off because thou art an enemy to the holy City to the true Religion or else thou wouldst not have overturned and trampled upon the Suburbs If you understand this you have the true notion and understanding of a Ceremony if you do not I will not further explain my self Wilt thou not suffer thy child to loll and jear with his hat on whilest thou art praying and kneeling with thy hat off though he pretend conscience for his disobedience and wilt thou not kneel then when they bid thee kneel that are thy Superiours in Church and State and be uncoverd when they bid thee be uncovered Hast thou power to enjoin Ceremonies in thy family and have not thy Superiours as much power to ordain Ceremonies in the Church Dost thou that pleadest the fifth Commandement against thy wicked disobedient son servant never plead it against thy self Dost thou say to thy son and servant you must needs be subject and that for conscience sake and dost thou never send that Scripture home to thine own heart thou that sayst a man should not steal or be disobedient dost thou steal art thou disobedient What need of Jayls or Acts of Indemnity or Uniformity Licences or Liberty Indulgence or no Indulgence It is all one to him that is of this Religion which will not suffer a man to pray and lye slander and preach fast and murder talk of incomes and getting Christ whilest he goes the way to hell There can be no Rebel-Saints of this Religion I 'll tell you in one word how truly to get Christ whilest Canters belabour you with a sound and an empty noise To get Christ is to get to Christ and there is no getting to Christ but in his own way his own way is what he taught himself for the sum of all Religion Law and Prophets Mat. 7. 12. which we have been treating of which is ready at hand always to direct thee in thought word and deed believe the Creed say the Lords prayer and the Liturgy frequent Sacraments and this is religion enough to carry thee to Heaven But you 'll say perhaps and object against me that if this be my religion why do I not practise it and again ask me whether in this Letter I have done to others as I would they should do to me that is would I be willing to be so sharply reprov'd and check'd as I sometimes check Father Grey-beard and the Canters To which I answer I not only would be content to be so us'd but if I were such a wretch to trouble and confound the Kingdom where I live with arts and methods that do tend and as by sad experience we have found have tended to blood ruine wars and desolation I would esteem him the best friend that I had in the world that could either convince me and the people seduced by me of our villanies or laugh me and them out of such fopperies by representing me and them upon the stage in as ridiculous a posture if it were possible as ever they were acted by me or them or Hugh Peters himself when multitudes of poor fools strove who should first part with their silver-bodkins and Plate body and soul for the Good O●…d Cause And if it were not to do both the seducers and seduced good by this plain dealing I had not writ a word in this Letter for I know my reward from most of them is that hatred for my good will railing lying and slandering me as the worst of men and yet cannot evidence in one particluar where I have transgress'd this great rule of doing as I would be done by this ten years Which I speak not as a fool or a Pharisee to boast of for fame nor honour nor dishonour riches nor poverty good report nor evil report safety or hazard can seem to me or any that are well grounded in this religion of Christ of doing as we would be done by any thing to move me towards the least desire of applause for I know this justification of my self is the way to create great envy and great reproach against me in those that know no duty so great as the four first Commandements namely the worship of God his days Sermons mysteries discourses and disputes of their ways of worship they are full of that but yet can envy lye slander and rail and then I tell them but they believe not that all their praying hearing keeping Sabbaths are not worth a Louse nor their faith neither though it is the very words at least the sence of what they read with their eyes 1 Cor. 13. 2. only here 's the difference I speak more worthily of their prophesying and their faith than the Apostle does allow to such idle mysteries where charity is wanting for he says such a man as has the gift of prophesying understands all mysteries all knowledge has all faith without charity is nothing whereas I only say such a man's gifts knowledge mysteries and faith are not without charity worth a Louse So that I have therein out-bid the worth of them a Louse is good for something I will not tell all its vertues it is good for the Jaundice c. but all knowledge mysteries prophesying and faith without charity the Apostle makes good for nothing at all Away with mens prate of Religion and admiring this and that precious man this and that precious piece of worship when it only puffs men up makes them more proud more scornful more headstrong more cruel more bloody more rapacious greater lyers greater slanderers more malicious than they were before and more a Devil than any man in the world is Turk Jew or Cannibal Shew me not the meat but shew me the man if these people that prate of their precious heavenly food they have had in these late times have in the mean time such starv'd souls empty of all goodness but a little outside holiness and vizard of worship but are full of such horrid sins as envy malice injustice lying cheating defaming and sometimes murdering and plundering and sequestring that on this side Hell there 's no such treacherous false and unsociable villaines then by this it is evident that like Ephraim they sed upon the wind liv'd like Camelions upon air sound whineing canting feigned words and if perhaps they have cast out some one Devil of swearing or Sabbath-breaking they have entertain'd in the room seven other Devils more wicked than the former and the last state of that man is worse than the first I know with this plain dealing I stir in a nest of wasps and because I have cryed down these feigned words with which craft these silver-smiths and juglers get their wealth these dearly beloved tones and whinings that did so affect the silly women thus undervalued spoils the trade G●…e me pen and ink and paper